Oops
by Valkyrie228
Summary: JPLE; Lily thinks she saw something she thought was between Remus and Sirius but no one else seems to share her thoughts. At least not yet. Not until she brings James Potter in on the whole plot and things just escalate from there.
1. Hmm

Right, well, this is my first attempt at a humor fic, so I hope you actually think it is funny. I laugh a little bit when I write it anyway.

As a warning, there are slashy thoughts and mentions, etc. It's a pretty large theme really, but you shouldn't get too uncomfortable. The rating is really mostly for language. Everything else is pretty mild. Also, I am always nervous that I might rate it too low, so I have always rated everything T.

Please review! I always get people reading my stories, but I hardly get reviewed. Yeah, that's about enough propaganda for one day, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"What an idiot," she said loudly tossing her hair over her shoulder with a quiet chuckle.

Lily watched with amusement as James Potter and his gang of cohorts scurried down the hallway. Her dark haired friend beside her looked at her quizzically, but she shrugged and made a noncommittal noise of agreement. Lily only vaguely saw her friend's movement out of the corner of her eye; her attention was focused on the retreating back of James Potter, the resident Hogwarts big-head.

Lily's mouth twisted into a grimace as she caught the tail end of her thoughts. She had no idea why she was thinking about him, again. No, not again, she just was. And that's all there was to it. Promptly, she turned her attention to Black and Lupin instead. Their heads were astoundingly close given the speeds their bodies were moving at, but it seemed they were managing a conversation of sorts.

Actually, it looked a bit cozier than an average conversation. Black barked a short, sharp laugh and Lupin's own laugh warbled around them. Lily thought this was strange. And she had seen many, many strange things in her short life.

"Did you see that?" she asked her friend.

"See what?"

"Umm, just Black and Lupin. I mean, they seemed awfully close."

"All four of them are awfully close, Lily; you need to be more specific than that."

"It's just–do you think Black and Lupin could be together?"

"As in together, together?

"What other together is there?"

"Lily, I don't think so. You know how Black is, and why would Lupin ever agree to let his, ah, significant other run about screwing everything in sight. And isn't Lupin supposed to be dating Gracie Fitzroy?"

"Fitzroy was last month–he's supposedly single again. I don't know, but there was something there with him and Black. I'm sure of it," Lily stated while watching the doorway the four Marauders had disappeared through. Her brow was furrowed slightly, and her bottom lip was barely pouted. Lily was thinking. Then she turned to completely face her taller friend and said, "And I will prove it, too."

Her companion snorted quietly and rolled her eyes. Lily was far too obsessed with the Marauders for her taste, but to each her own.

Later that evening as Lily reclined by the fire with a completely un-school related book, the four Marauders stampeded into the common room. They were all laughing and wheezing simultaneously with their faces flushed and their eyes sparkling as they shooed a few first years off the couches and collapsed. Potter and Lupin crashed first and were sitting more or less upright on the couch when Pettigrew flopped between them and shoved Remus slightly into Black who was perched precariously on the sofa arm. Lupin grabbed the back of Black's robes and pulled him away from the brink of disaster, but he pulled too hard. Lily watched as Black smashed into Lupin and Pettigrew and spread across their laps. His legs dangled comically off the end of the couch and his grin was unnaturally large. "Just can't keep your hands off me, can you Moony?"

In response, Lupin laughed and pinched Black's stomach hard enough to make him yelp. Black's smile did not waver, and Lily noticed. She also saw how Black seemed to have absolutely no intentions of moving from Remus's lap. Granted, he was also partially in Peter's lap, but she was willing to overlook that fact as Black and Lupin were once again talking quietly between themselves. At least they were, she sighed to herself, before Potter poked Black in the head and made an off color comment about Professor McGonagall's underwear choices. Lily decided she didn't want to know about whatever they had gotten into and returned back to her book.

Even though she was reading–really, she was–she still noticed when Potter and Pettigrew stood and wandered up to their beds. She told herself she was watching because she wanted to see if Black and Lupin would linger romantically together before the fire and watching James Potter's backside going up the stairs was just a precaution to be sure he actually went up to bed. And Lily was sure she was only smiling because she was no longer being stared at and could continue to observe her two subjects.

When Lily turned back to look at the remaining two Marauders, they were sitting facing each other on the couch and seemed to be having a serious conversation. Lily found it remarkable that they were capable of having serious conversations, but she continued to watch anyway. Remus's face was darkening into a scowl as his potential lover continued to talk, and his eyes were aimed at a particularly odd shaped stain on the floor under the table beside him. Lily thought she might have seen a bit of a teary sparkle in his eyes, but she was fairly sure that was just wishful thinking.

Suddenly Remus's eyes jerked to Black's face. The look in them was heavy and dark, and Lily was thankful no one had ever looked at her that way. She watched as a light flush slowly suffused Black's cheeks as Lupin spoke to him quietly but obviously forcefully. There was no mistaking the tears shimmering in Black's eyes. Lily almost felt bad for him, but she was sure whatever he had done warranted this punishment; Lupin was the most levelheaded of the Marauders, though Lily often suspected that did not mean much.

Just as Lily was contemplating sliding into hearing distance, Black leapt to his feet with a snarled, "Fine! If that's what you bloody well want, fine!"

"No, that's not what I want you bloody idiot! I've told you a hundred times that I need more time to think, but no! You need me to just say 'Oh, Sirius, everything's just fine and fucking dandy' instead of actually telling you the truth!"

By now Lupin and Black were both standing and staring at each other. Their chests were heaving and their eyes looked wild.

"I know the truth, Remus. I can see it in the way you walk beside me and avoid me unless you can't. I don't need to hear you tell me to know what's going on."

Lily had never heard Black sound so defeated. If she did not know better she would have said Black was hanging his head slightly and scuffing the carpet with his toe, but she knew things like that only happened in hallucinations of the strangest sort.

Perhaps she should pay better attention to Potter during Potions to be sure all of this was not his fault.

Remus reached out and gripped Black's shoulder. His eyes were soft now and sad. "You know I'll forgive you, Padfoot," he said with a strange half-smile, "but I just need some more time to work everything out."

"Until then…?"

"I don't know, Sirius. I really don't know."

With that, both boys slinked off to bed and left Lily staring where they had stood with her jaw hanging slightly open and her curiosity piqued. Really, she thought, curiosity killed the cat. But then again, cats had nine lives, didn't they?


	2. What!

I completely forgot the disclaimer on the last chapter, so consider it and this one disclaimed. You know the drill - nothing you recognize is mine.

Also, I have a fair bit of this story written, but not all of it. It will (most likely) be finished at some point, so I'd like to hear your opinions and suggestions about what you like and dislike and even if you have any ideas you think would be great for the story.

Last thing - I promise. This fic does have slashy themes - as in there are lots of references to homosexuality. However, there may not be any actual slash going on. So, just in case you were wondering.

I managed to accidentally delete this chapter, but it is up now without any actual changes except for my AN because I realized I had stupidly given away the plot. Oops!

* * *

Late at night, while Lily was lying awake in her bed after one of her roommates kicked her trunk and cursed loudly trying to sneak back into the room, she contemplated what Black had said. Clearly, it was not true. At least, not all of it was because Remus was obviously not avoiding him. If he was, she never would have seen that suspicious interaction as the four ran down the hallway in the afternoon.

She wondered idly what they had been talking about to laugh so loudly. She wondered less idly what had happened between the two times she had seen them to change the mood so effectively.

Finally, Lily drifted back to sleep, but her curiosity had not abated–not even a bit.

During breakfast the next morning, Lily managed to snag a spot with the perfect vantage point to watch both Lupin and Black while talking to her friends. Highly proud of herself, Lily set about her newly established morning routine–butter her toast, eavesdrop on Black and Lupin, complement a new necklace, and offer suggestions for incomplete essays.

Lupin and Black were acting perfectly normal today. It was almost as if their whole conversation last night never happened. Maybe she really should have a discussion with Potter about appropriate behavior around her potions.

But no, wait! That was definitely a furtive glance Lupin gave Black through his eyelashes. It was fleeting, yes, but Lily knew she had seen it. There was no way this was some elaborate prank!

Black continued on with his breakfast completely oblivious to the glances Lily saw Remus repeatedly giving him during the meal. Each time, Lupin's gaze rested longer, as if he were looking or waiting for something. Then, with only five minutes left to breakfast, Black turned to Lupin and gave him a blinding grin. The two rose simultaneously from their seats, waved their goodbyes, and hurried off to what was hopefully class.

Lily stopped watching once Black placed a hand on Lupin's shoulder as he ushered them out of the Great Hall.

As she rose with her friends and began to leave the Great Hall herself, she could not stop her eyes from resting on the two remaining Marauders. Peter was prattling on to Potter from what she could see, but Potter was gazing at the doors where his other two friends had so hurriedly disappeared. An odd, contemplative look was stretched across his face, and Lily wondered what he knew about Black and Lupin and what he was suspecting.

However, it was not until they were walking down to a prefect meeting together that Lily actually attempted to find some concrete answers to all of her questions. Potter was being unusually quiet, and his forehead was scrunched up tightly. Lily was afraid he might actually be thinking.

"What's wrong with you, Potter?" she tried. Her question was a bit more abrasive than she had intended, but it was only Potter, anyway.

"Nothing; why do you care?" he snapped.

It was an entirely new experience for Lily. Instead of snapping at Potter after being pestered too much, he had snapped at her for pestering him. Confused, Lily tried again, "It just seems like there's a bit of a strain with the four of you, is all."

Lily watched Potter out of the corner of her eye. Potter's mouth twisted into a grimace and his eyes sparkled oddly. She could not tell if it was anger or something else. Then, Potter sighed and he seemed to shrink beside her. One hand came up to rub his eyes and then moved on to brush through his hair. Lily rolled her eyes as his hair stuck up even more than was usual for Potter.

"It's just that I've noticed some stuff with Black and Lupin," she continued in a rush. "I have my own theory, but I was wondering what you know about it."

"You're just looking for gossip!" Potter suddenly exclaimed as he stopped abruptly and gaped at her. "Are you–are you–using me!"

Lily just rolled her eyes and huffed at Potter's dramatics, but he continued, "No, you are! You're trying to be all _femme fatale_ and get me to tell you everything so you can have something to gossip about with all the other girls while you're painting your nails or something girly like that!"

"Look, Potter, you only get so many exclamation points in one lifetime, and you're using them up."

Potter stared at her blankly for a moment then chuckled softly to himself. It was a low sound like the sound stones made plopping into the lake in the spring. Then Potter ran his hand through his hair and said while still smiling lopsidedly, "That's something Sirius would say."

"I guess he's spending a lot more time with Remus, then?" she asked. Well, it was worth a shot.

"What makes you say that?" If Lily thought she would be able to call James Potter for nervous, evasive maneuvers, she was wrong. Potter was just as cool as the aforementioned lake in the spring. He was even smiling slightly still.

"Well, it's just that they seem different, you know? Like they're off in their own world a lot of the time. Like yesterday, when you were all running down the hall, Remus and Black were laughing and joking with each other instead of all of you."

Potter's eyes narrowed slightly at that. "What are you doing watching Remus and Sirius?" Lily heard the 'instead of me' loudly and clearly, anyway.

"Like I said, they seem different to me."

The two had reached a sort of stalemate. They were both looking suspiciously at each other, waiting for the other to crack and divulge whatever secrets they imagined the other had.

Finally, Potter once more ran his hand through his hair and said, "Look, I'm assuming you're going to be all but stalking the two of them to figure out whatever it is the two of them are doing, so, well, I guess I might as well help you. After all, I can't very well let you loose on them like a rogue bludger, can I?"

His lopsided smile was almost sheepish, Lily thought, but it did not change the fact that he had just invited himself into her quest for the truth. She glared at him slightly, but he did not back down. Typical. Well, they were his friends, so she supposed he deserved to know whatever she discovered, anyway.

"Alright, fine, you can help," she sighed. Potter's grin almost split his face in half.

"Great! So, what's your theory? You said you had one, right?"

"You're telling me you have absolutely no idea what is going on with them? They're your best friends for Merlin's sake!"

"Ladies first," he grinned.

"Alright, well, I think they're together–as in romantically."

She was fairly sure she saw Potter's jaw drop in slow motion, but he shook off his shock surprisingly quickly. Then, he began to laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more. When Lily was sure he was going to die of suffocation, he managed to wheeze, "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not," she snapped. Her expression must have convinced him because he stopped laughing immediately and stared at her with his face still red and a few tears squeezing past his eyelashes.

"Alright then, well, I guess we had better set about proving you wrong, right?"

Except for the odd giggle, Potter managed to remain surprisingly serious.

"Fine. After the prefect meeting you can tell me everything you can that's related to this mystery."

Potter's smile was infectious–at least, that is what Lily told herself when she found herself smiling inanely back at him.

"Agreed," he said solemnly holding his hand out for her to shake.

She took it, rolled her eyes once more for good measure, and said equally solemnly, "It will be a pleasure proving you wrong."

* * *

After the prefect meeting and the meeting with Lily about the potential love life between his two best friends, James climbed up the stairs to his dormitory. The other three were already up and sprawled across the floor lazily doing homework together. At the sound of the door opening, Sirius turned his head and grinned, "Ah, Jamesie-boy's finally come home! Thought we lost you there for a bit, mate."

James snorted and dropped down into the spot left open for him. Sirius and Remus were lying side by side on their stomachs and Peter was leaning against the bed opposite them with a book propped against his bent knees.

James dropped his head onto his fists and stared at Sirius blankly for a few long moments while sitting cross-legged on the floor. Not even Sirius's face making inspired him to blink.

Eventually, James said, "I just had the longest, strangest conversation ever with Lily Evans."

Remus snorted, Peter chuckled, and Sirius gave two sharp barking laughs. "No, really you guys have to hear this. She seems to think the two of you," he said while pointing to both Remus and Sirius, "are romantically _involved_."

Sirius pushed himself into a sitting position perfectly mirroring James's and Remus snorted again. "I hope you set her straight, Prongs," Remus said calmly with the barest hints of laughter behind his words.

"I tried!" James exclaimed while waving his arms furiously around his head. "She just wouldn't listen!"

Sirius laughed again, and he did not stop until he was red in the face and he had to hold his ribs in place with his arms. "This is the best prank we could have ever thought of, James!" he gasped between laughs. "Why didn't we ever think of it? It would be killing two birds with one stone. Just imagine the chaos we could cause!"

"I don't think any of us are interested in causing that sort of damage, Sirius," Remus said stiffly still reclining on the floor over his Charms essay.

"I didn't mean it like that, Remus," Sirius said apologetically and ducked his head slightly.

James was starting to get tired of this. At the end of last year, Sirius had almost gotten both Snape and Remus killed with the most idiotic prank anyone could have ever thought of. James still could not understand what inspired Sirius to send Snape after Remus who had been at the time a fully transformed werewolf. Of course, he also could not understand why Snape actually did what Sirius told him to do.

So, James understood why Remus was mad at Sirius. Hell, he understood why Remus was furious with Sirius, but this had gone on long enough. It was almost Christmas break now, and Remus was still telling Sirius that he needed time before he could treat him the same way again.

James had been the first to forgive Sirius, naturally. It was hard to stay angry at him when he lived with him and saw how guilty and devastated his friend was. A week or so into the term, Peter had plucked up the courage and forgiven Sirius, too. Remus had acted about the same as always, except he was slightly more reserved toward Sirius than he used to be, but he still had not told Sirius that he forgave him.

James watched every day as the remorse ate away at his best friend. To appease the guilt eating at him, Sirius had begun to cater to Remus's every whim. Sirius was effectively punishing himself as every day he stretched himself further and further for Remus's forgiveness no matter if Remus asked him not to.

"Anyway," James said clearing his throat to break the sudden tension in the room, "I'll get a good laugh about it when the gossip mill finds out about your scandalous love affair."

"Shut up, James," Sirius grinned again as he tossed a pillow at his friend's head.

"Alright, but here's the really important part. Lily's looking for proof that you two really are secret, gay lovers, and I've somehow managed to get myself enlisted in her project."

"What?" Peter said while the other two blinked and stared at him, stunned.

James giggled nervously, "Well, she was being nice to me, and she was talking to me without insulting me. I don't know, I just agreed."

At Sirius's and Remus's glares, he backtracked, "Well, not exactly agreed–actually, I kind of included myself."

When neither of his friends stopped glaring at him, he tried again, "At least I'm the one trying to prove you're not together!" He was sure he was blushing.

"Then this ordeal shouldn't last very long, should it?" Peter asked. "I mean, you know they're not, ah, _involved_."

"Yes, thank you, Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed and pointed at James wildly, "You are one lucky man, James Potter."

"Hmm, ah, yes, see that's kind of the problem, Padfoot. I really, really want to spend time with Lily. We actually had a full conversation, Padfoot! An actual conversation!"

"What are you proposing, James," Remus groaned as he began to massage his forehead.

"Think of it as…one really complicated prank."

The other three exchanged mutual looks of horror and skepticism. "What prank?" Sirius managed to ask.

"You and Remus pretend to be together–at least enough to keep Lily suspecting. That way I can legitimately spend time with her and then convince her that she really is madly in love with me."

"Wait a minute–I think I just lost my brain," Remus said.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure I lost my hearing since that sounded suspiciously like he wants us to pretend to be shagging each other so he can get a girl," Sirius said raising one eyebrow at James warily.

Peter sniggered at his friends' expressions. Two of them seemed to be staring at each other in horror while the third looked positively desperate. "I think your hearing's fine," he said still snickering, "because that's exactly what I heard."

Sirius was starting to look at bit green around the edges and Remus's eyes looked glazed over. Sirius swallowed loudly then turned back to look at James. After a silent conversation that looked remarkably like a staring contest, Sirius nodded his head slightly and said, "Well, it's not exactly the strangest thing we've ever done, right, Moony? Remember in fourth year–"

"Yes, Padfoot, I do." Remus was now scrubbing at his face furiously with the palms of his hands. "Alright," he finally said, "I'll do it. But not forever; when Sirius and I want out, it's over."

"Yes, yes, anything you say, Moony!" James agreed before he threw himself at his two friends. Much hugging and cheek kissing later, James all but bounced down to the common room in hopes of finding Lily there.

Once he was gone, Peter stood up and gathered all of his homework. After dropping all of his books and scrolls unceremoniously on his bed, he turned and said with a remarkably straight face, "I guess I'll just let you two lovebirds get to it, then."

He promptly scurried out the room laughing as his friends threw mild curses and jinxes at his heels.

"Well," Sirius drawled as he turned to face Remus, "I guess I'm your boyfriend, then."

* * *

Lily glanced over her book at Potter who sat rather flamboyantly if she dared say so into the chair across from her. She watched as Peter later came tearing down the stairs laughing uproariously. She raised her eyebrows at Potter who was grinning widely up at his dormitory stairs. Then, after only the briefest moments of quiet, she heard Black's characteristic laugh tumbling down the stairs completely intermingled with Lupin's. If she could have raised her eyebrows further, she would have.


	3. Oh no!

Alright, I know it's taken me a while to post this, but I'll have to aggravate you more by asking you to be patient once again. It's currently AP time and I'm taking a shitload. Then I'm graduating and everything will be nuts. And not the salted kind either. So, please, don't give up on me - I am trying to keep up with everything!

I hope you like this next installment. I (as always) laughed to myself as I was typing it, but I'd love to hear your opinions.

This is disclaimed, again, because it is not mine. Damn it.

* * *

Several days passed. Lily argued with Potter over every nuance of the interactions between Black and Lupin, but so far, she had not seen anything particularly incriminating. She was starting to become disheartened and was considering quitting, but then she would have to face Potter and tell him he was right which would only inflate his head more. Truly, Lily was stuck.

As Lily was staring morosely into her marmalade, James took the opportunity to quietly berate his friends. "Look, she's starting to lose interest. You two aren't giving her enough to keep her curiosity going."

"Hey, don't accuse us. It's not our fault if your girl is about as blind as a bat," Sirius defended.

"What he means is," Remus clarified with a kick to his friend's ankle, "whenever we do something "coupley" she has already looked away."

"Maybe on one of your dates you should teach her about being sneaky and sly," Sirius teased. "You know, you can practice by hiding in the shadows so the professors don't catch the two of you snogging."

"They're not dates you idiot."

"Aww, I think Jamesie's got his feelings hurt."

"Look, the two of you just need to do something to catch her attention again. I don't care what you do, just, please, do something."

"Alright, alright, calm down, James," Remus soothed. "We'll think of something, today."

Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically while James slumped forward in relief and Peter chuckled into his pumpkin juice.

* * *

In History of Magic, Lupin tossed Black a note. Lily saw him do it. Of course, all four of the Marauders habitually shirked their academics in favor of plotting pranks and passing notes. But, Lily felt her hopes lifting anyway. If only she could get a hold of one of their notes.

As she watched the barest of smiles flicker across Black's face she thought, thank Merlin it was only History of Magic, no one cared about Tholusic the Criminally-Insane-Wizard-Who-Had-Stormed-the-Keep-of-Sir-Reginald-the-Righteous-in-1113 anyway. Lily then set about avidly watching Remus and Black pass what were most likely love notes back and forth.

Lily was sure they were love notes. Black looked suitably dreamy–and not because Binns's rambling was a proven narcotic–and Remus kept looking sideways at Black through his eyelashes. She was even convinced she had seen him bat them a time or two.

Remus and Sirius were, however, not passing love notes. The piece of parchment that they had written together during lunch was safely tucked inside Sirius's pocket. All they had to do now was make a grand show for Lily of passing the same parchment back and forth as if they were writing something terribly romantic. Remus had even taken the liberty of batting his lashes at Sirius occasionally. Sirius was convinced he would never get another girl to look at him in the same way again.

As Lily watched, the two seemed to get tired of writing and surreptitiously moved closer together until they could whisper between themselves. She watched as Black slipped the note into his pocket. As he drew his hand back out, the neatly creased note fluttered out and onto the floor beneath Black's desk. Lily was sure she was about to spontaneously combust, she was so excited.

She hardly noticed as class was dismissed. She blinked confusedly a time or two, then began to pack up her things while watching Black and Lupin. They were still whispering to each other with matching smiles. Her gaze zeroed in on Black's hand on the small of Lupin's back as the four Marauders stampeded out the classroom. Really, Lily was amazed she had never noticed Black doing that before.

Once she was sure they were gone, and the last traces of Potter's tragically uncombed hair disappeared around the door, she scooped up the dropped note. Grinning as she read, Lily stuffed the note into her bag. She was so going to rub this in Potter's face.

She burst into the common room only moments after the Marauders had arrived. She looked around for James, and once she caught his eye, she began gesturing him over furiously. Obediently, James leapt to his feet and trotted over to her while his friends sniggered at his eagerness.

For a moment, Lily forgot about the note in her bag and her excitement at winning. For a moment, she felt herself smiling at James's blinding grin and his tousled hair. It was nice having him be nice to her. It was nice being with him and talking without him asking her out every five seconds. Even if they were only talking about his friends, he was still being a perfect gentleman instead of the usual arrogant Quidditch player. So, as he approached, it made sense what she did next.

"I saw them passing a note all during Binns's class–did you see what it said?" Lily was quite impressed with her own acting skills.

"Umm, no, I didn't," James sounded ridiculously disappointed that he could not tell her what it said.

Lily only smiled brighter as if to make up for his grin suddenly dimming. "That's alright–" she began to say before she heard Lupin and Black muttering as they passed.

"I can't believe you dropped it!" Remus snapped exasperatedly.

"Well, I can't believe you didn't see me do it!" Black countered.

"Oh, yes, that is a totally reasonable argument!"

"Let's just go back to Binns's and find it," Black sighed.

Lily watched with her head slightly tilted as Black's and Lupin's fingers barely brushed together as they walked. Black slid through the portrait hole first, but while he did, Lily noticed Remus did not let go of the edge of Black's robe. While she was watching Black and Lupin, James watched Lily.

Once the two were out the door, Lily turned back to James with a triumphant 'Ah, HA!' look. Really, she was astounded by her acting skills. What she was even more astounded about, though, was her need to act that sentiment at the moment. Knowing James, he would want to follow them.

"I have an invisibility cloak in my trunk. Wait right here and we can see what they're up to."

How predictable, Lily thought as James raced up the stairs and almost instantly back down them. He was panting slightly and his cheeks were flushed. Lily could feel the heat rising in her own cheeks as he clearly invaded her space, then draped the cloak around them both.

* * *

Remus and Sirius were almost certain they were not being followed yet. Just to be safe, they walked ridiculously close together, but they could not bring themselves to say a word.

"You reckon James and Lily are behind us yet?" Remus finally whispered almost directly into Sirius's ear.

"Nah, James is probably going to take his sweet time walking so close to Evans."

"Yeah, probably right." Their conversation came to a stuttering halt.

Suddenly, Sirius came to a complete stop. He turned to look at Remus with dark eyes and his head slightly bowed. "I'm sorry, Moony, I really am. I do stupid shit all of the time without even thinking about it. That's probably why it's stupid," he said sheepishly.

Remus just shook his head as if he were confused. Before he could walk on, though, Sirius grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him back to a stop. "No, listen to me. I'm sorry for getting you into this; I'm sorry for getting you involved in anything, especially the thing last year. You've got to understand, Moony. I don't want to get you involved in anything you don't want, but anything you do want, I want to be involved in."

Lily watched pressed tightly against James's chest as Sirius stared at Remus. Sirius was an intense person, she had always known that. Everyone knew that. But somehow, standing here in front of Remus, whose Adam's apple was bobbing frantically, she thought Sirius was the most intense he had ever been.

"I think we should leave," James whispered in her ear. His breath was entirely too warm. It even smelled sort of sweet like apples.

Lily just nodded and the invisible two left the other two behind staring deep into each others' eyes as if they were looking for something.

"I've missed you, Sirius," Remus muttered. Before he knew it, Sirius was holding him in a bone crushing hug and sobbing into his hair. Sirius's entire body was shaking and all Remus could do was hold him until he stopped.

"It's alright, I forgive you," he crooned into Sirius's ear in the middle of the hallway. It was almost dinner time, and they really did not need to be found like this.

Once Sirius's sobs softened to sniffles and he straightened his hair again, Remus suggested, "Why don't we head back down to Binns's for that note, alright?"

They had assumed when they overheard the conversation between James and Lily that their love note plot had failed in much the same way as their earlier plots and had attempted to redeem the situation by getting Lily and James to follow them down to Binns's room where the note would still be lying on the floor. The plan was to make a big show of looking around for it so James or Lily could grab it, read it, and leave it for them to find. It was the perfect plot–just like all their others had been until Lily messed them up.

So, when they walked into the empty classroom and there honestly was no note to be found, it was naturally a shock.

"Where the hell did you drop the bloody note, Padfoot!" Remus was in the process of moving beyond shocked and well into hysterical as he knocked over a desk in his search.

"Well I sat right here," Sirius said still a bit dazed as he pointed at the desk.

One of the worst parts of the whole situation was the fact that they thought they were being watched by a fascinated Lily Evans and their friend, James Potter, who was equally fascinated with her. Continuously acting, they searched and fretted until it was inescapably clear that the note was gone.

"Fuck!" Sirius spat as he kicked the desk he had sat at repeatedly.

"We need to make a new plan," Remus stated remarkably calmly as he set about pulling his hair out of his scalp.

"…fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" Sirius continued in the background.

"How many people could possibly have picked it up? I mean there were how many of us in the class–maybe the room was already cleaned and the note's been thrown out! Sirius, what are you doing?"

Sirius was systematically banging his head against the classroom wall. Remus watched bemusedly listening to the dull thunking sound echoing around them.

Sirius snarled and glared at him, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Losing your mind, one brain cell at a time."

Sirius snorted and combed his fingers through his hair. Remus thought he looked a bit too wild for it to mean anything good.

"Do you realize what it means if someone else picked up that note and read it? What were we thinking, Moony, to create hard evidence? My reputation is going to be over!"

"I hardly doubt anyone will be too surprised that you've gotten tired of your usual droves of girls and have moved on to the boys now, too. Everyone knows how insatiable you are–maybe the girls will even flock to you more in hopes of getting your attentions back on them."

"No, Remus, it's not that. I have never said much less written anything that soppily romantic in my entire life. Not to anyone. It hardly matters who it's to–what matters is that I have, according to the note, fallen madly in love!

"I think we should just go. We need plenty of time to prepare for tomorrow."

Remus just nodded his head and followed Sirius out the door. Nerves were twisting his stomach into knots and he could picture all the sneering and laughing faces at breakfast. James owed them for this. Oh, he owed them big.


	4. Oh, yes

I'm so sorry I've taken so long to update! Really, I am. Computers truly suck, and mine is no different. Now, with a completely new hard drive, I can semi-usually connect to the internet. And I have no microsoft word. Actually I have no writing capabilities whatsoever except for some sort of notepad thing, so I'm going to have to get used to writing with a pen again. So, I can't really promise when the next chapter will be uploaded.

Anyway, enough whining, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And I hope for lots and lots of reviews!

**Disclaimer: Please don't sue - gas prices have reduced me to a pauper, and nothing you recognize is mine anyway.**

* * *

"James," Lily whispered directly into his ear. His dark hair was tickling her nose as she spoke. "What were they talking about back there? I mean, you had to have noticed if they were fighting enough for Sirius to have to apologize like that."

Lily damned herself for her curiosity.

"Yeah, I know what happened, but it doesn't have anything to do with their supposed relationship. So, just leave it alone–alright?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, James. I was just wondering."

"Curiosity killed the bloody cat."

"Look, what has gotten into you? I was just interested in what called for such an ardent apology. Besides, I thought it was rather romantic."

"Romantic!" James all but squawked, "You think screwing up badly enough to reduce Sirius Black to tears is romantic! Can you even begin to imagine all of the heartache and weeping and despair that came before your oh-so-romantic apology?

"And do you know who was there to comfort both of them? Me.

"I was the one holding them as they broke apart. Because both of them are idiots sometimes, but Remus is especially and can't admit when he is suffering. And Sirius can't stop feeling guilty because everything is his fault even though it isn't. Well, not entirely anyway. So, yeah, I think I have the right to be in a bit of a mood when two of my best friends in the whole bloody world are just going to break each other again."

Lily knew she was gaping. Honestly, she did, but what are you supposed to do when a flushed and glassy eyed James Potter is standing before you after babbling about broken hearts and best friends? He ran his hands through his hair one more time and seemed to deflate as he exhaled. "Sorry, Lily," he mumbled.

"Don't be," she answered before she could help herself. She flushed brilliantly and James's mouth quirked.

As they continued to talk, they stepped closer together than before.

Mere steps from the Fat Lady, Lily stopped and turned to James again. "You know, I only thought it was romantic because the Great and Heartless Sirius Black is only that way because he's given his own away."

James's eyes seemed darker than they should have been. Lily knew he was far too close for comfort. At least, she was pretty sure she should not be happy with the way his breath was sliding across her cheek or the way his fingers were brushing against her elbows.

"So, it's romantic when Sirius demonstrates his love, but when I do, it's just annoying."

"I-I umm," she stuttered. James smirked. He tentatively slid his foot between hers. Lily had to tilt her head back to keep looking into his eyes. He had her transfixed.

As he watched her throat work frantically, he said, "It's alright to give your heart away then, even if it breaks others in the process, but not if it inconveniences you. You see, Lily, I think I'm figuring you out. You just want to watch and appreciate. You're a dreamer."

He watched as her eyes darkened as he dipped his head closer to her ear. Her breaths were ragged. His own heart was skipping–or doing the hula; he had yet to decide.

"I admire that, but are you a Gryffindor or not?" he grinned wolfishly at her.

Lily could hear a ringing in her ears. Actually, that was almost all she could hear above her head screaming at her that oh my God James Potter's going to kiss me! His lips were getting closer and closer to hers, and wait, when did she start wanting him to kiss her? She was supposed to be screaming like a banshee by now. No, she was not supposed to be leaning closer, and why the hell was she standing on her toes!

Then, out of the whirlwind that was her thoughts, she heard, "are you a Gryffindor or not?"

Yes, she thought distantly. Yes, I am. Then her fingers were curling in his robes, and she watched as his eyes widened. Standing on her toes, she dragged him down and crashed his lips against hers.

"Well," she panted smugly, "am I a Gryffindor or not, then?"

"Y-yes. Ah, I'd say you are," James said with his voice cracking. She was fairly sure his eyes would fall out if they opened any farther. He brushed his hands through his hair and suddenly composed himself. Smarmy grin and all, James Potter leaned forward again lips barely brushing hers and whispered, "But you might want to prove it again, you know, make it a case study or something. Just so we all know for sure."

Lily smiled up at him. She felt warm all over, and she was sure she had never been quite this happy. Not even the time she got her Hogwarts letter or when she accidently turned Petunia's hair green could compare to the way she felt right now at this exact moment. She was convinced she had swallowed balloons.

"Well," she giggled, actually giggled, "a case study would require more trials than just two. Maybe a third or even a fourth would be needed."

"I suppose we could make that work," he drawled before catching her face in his hands and firmly proving that, yes, Lily Evans was most definitely a Gryffindor.

* * *

Morning. Sirius truly, unequivocally hated morning. Groaning, he attempted to shield his eyes from the cruel, cruel sunlight that was trying to melt his eyeballs.

"Sirius–Sirius!" came an insistent whisper near his ear. Swatting at the irritation, Sirius rolled over onto his other side, which just so happened to connect solidly with Remus Lupin.

"For fuck's sake, Moony, it's too damned early in the bloody morning."

"Do you always curse this much in the morning? Never mind; I don't want to know. We have bigger problems.

"James and Peter have already gone down to breakfast. Apparently last night was the night for Lily and James–"

"The bloody wankers."

"Yes, Sirius, thank you," Remus sighed pinching the bridge of his nose as Sirius yawned widely.

"Look, James came in so late we didn't get the chance to warn him, and he's already left. It's too late for damage control."

Sirius blinked confusedly for all of three seconds before he remembered last night. "Oh, fuck," he breathed. "What's the plan?"

Remus had progressed to massaging his temples. His shoulders were tense and he felt like hitting something. "Pray," he groaned.

Trudging down to the Great Hall for breakfast had never been so difficult, and that was saying something. Sirius's feet were lead, and Remus had some creative theories that called for his feet to be on backward. Unfortunately, despite a rather timely incident involving the vanishing step and Remus's foot, they both arrived at breakfast at the usual time. The entire hall was teeming with students in various stages of consciousness, and the whole room roared with their conversations. Remus felt like he was going to vomit.

Then, Sirius's hand was on his back and shoving him through the doors. Conversation boomed even louder as students stopped talking to bellow out their greetings and good mornings to Lupin and Black, one half of the Marauders. Sirius grinned and winked at Remus. There were only two options after all; either everyone knew and could care less, or no one knew at all. And really, they both knew which was more likely.

Lily watched absently as Black and Lupin swaggered to their customary seats. Sure, it was hard to pay attention to details less trivial than the perfect bow of James's bottom lip, but it was habit to watch the two of them. She could hardly help it, but she saw the way they shared a secret smile and wink. She was hardly blind; she was perfectly aware of Black's hand on Lupin's back.

"What's this, James? You finally bagged the bird?" Sirius crowed as he reached over the table and ruffled both James's and Lily's hair.

"Watch it, Black," she snapped irritably. Remus was grinning wildly over his eggs and bacon. Peter tossed him the pepper, and Remus sneezed. Suddenly, Sirius was pounding his back and calling, "Easy there, mate. Don't want to lose you to Pernicious Pepper."

"I thought it was Persnickety Pepper and Pernicious Plums," James interjected with an idiotic grin.

"Ah, well, you know how pernicious those plums are," Lupin sniffled. Really, Lily wondered how the four of them functioned. Rolling her eyes, she returned to absently watching the way James rubbed his jaw with the back of his knuckles as he yawned and the way Black's fingers brushed Lupin's as he reached for the jam.

Licking the last traces of butter and jam from her fingers, Lily turned and smiled at James who was absentmindedly rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "I think I'm going to go on up to class," she said.

"But, Lily," he pleaded, "there's still a good ten minutes at least left to breakfast!"

"Oh, don't sound so appalled," she giggled and pecked his slightly sticky lips. Honestly, she needed to get this giggling thing sorted. Gathering her books with one last prying look at Black and Lupin and a special lingering look for James, she disappeared through the doors.

Once Lily was definitely gone, Remus kicked James under the table as Sirius hissed, "Jamesie-boy, we've got a problem with this whole plot of yours."

"Oh, no worries, boys. That's all sorted now, you see. Lily's my girlfriend and I can just tell her I've found convincing proof she's wrong. She'll pout, we'll snog, and all will be forgotten," James waved off their concerns without looking away from where Lily had left.

"Well, that's just brilliant. Really it is," Remus drawled.

"Yeah, except the little fact that our fake love note is floating around the school somewhere," Sirius snarled with a particularly emphatic kick to James's kneecap.

"What?" James was stunned. How could things have backfired so badly when everything had been working perfectly?

"My thoughts exactly," quipped Remus.

"Somehow, your girl managed to completely ruin another one of our perfectly planned plots. The only thing is this time, she's managed to let loose hard evidence that we are gay!"

The Great Hall was almost completely silent. James thought he heard crickets chirping. Remus moaned pathetically and dropped his head into his hands, and Sirius was wildly looking at all the stunned faces surrounding them. James was fairly sure Peter was chuckling to himself and not crying, but at the moment, it was anyone's guess.

"Everyone heard that, didn't they?" Sirius asked after another painfully silent moment.

"Yes. Yes, they did, Padfoot," Remus answered.

* * *

Again, I'm terribly sorry for the wait. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long.


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